Monday, February 18, 2019

That Was One Long Trip - The Passage Review


TITLE: The Passage (The Passage #1)
AUTHOR: Justin Cronin
PUBLISHER: Ballantine Books
PUBLISHING DATE: June 8, 2010


FROM GOODREADS: A IT HAPPENED FAST. THIRTY-TWO MINUTES FOR ONE WORLD TO DIE, ANOTHER TO BE BORN.                                                                                                            First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear--of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he's done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. Wolgast is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors, but for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey--spanning miles and decades--toward the time an place where she must finish what should never have begun.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterly prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.
MY THOUGHTS: So anyone who has been visiting my blog knows that this review has been a long time coming.  I started reading this book January 1st and honestly wondered if I would ever finish it.  I need to add that I am not afraid of huge books. In fact, some of my all-time faves have been super long (aka - The King).  But this book wasn't only long, it was dense, and it spanned over 100 years in time.  And at times, I felt like it was taking me that long to read it.

"The Passage" is basically a futuristic post-apocalyptic tale - with vampires.  Except they are now fondly referred to as smokes.  These entities were created by the government in order to battle disease and find a cure for everything.  However, this book clearly teaches you not to mess with Mother Nature too much.

So the military took the worst of mankind, horrible criminals on death row, and in trying to do good, unleashed a madness on the world.  It didn't take long for the population to dwindle.  Yet the military did try to remedy their mistake and in doing so took Amy NLN (no last name) and created a possible cure for their madness.  But can she find the people she needs to help her, and will they realize what needs to be done?

"The Passage" really is a great tale.  I never considered DNF'ing it, even though it did fall behind the couch, where it sat for two days, because it was a wonderful reason not to pick it up.  And had I focused solely on this book, and not had other reading obligations and let's say, work and family, it would have easily been finished in less than two weeks.  I loved Amy and will forever envision her as the adorable little girl playing her on the Fox TV series (and if you are watching that, you know that they were way off on their casting - also if you are watching it, know that it and the book should probably be treated as two different tales because they are that different).  I think the beginning of the book, where the author is setting the stage and where Amy is on the run with Agent Wolgast, is my favorite part of the book.  And honestly, the middle, where we go pages and pages without Amy, focusing on a community trying to survive in the New World, dragged a bit.  However, even that section offered characters I grew to love - Theo, Maus, Circuit, Lish and Peter to name a few.  There are tons of people in this book to love...and to hate.

So overall I am pleased with "The Passage."  I am glad I finally picked this book up and since it was a present from Mr. Barb for Christmas, I can say he definitely got his money's worth.  And will I be continuing?  Yes, in fact, I already own the big fat floppy book #2.  If you like survival tales and more importantly, if you like character-driven books (I do), then I do think you will enjoy "The Passage."  Just be prepared to make a commitment because I would never categorize this as a quick read.

RATING: 4 PAWS



AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL MY PALS WHO CHEERED ME ON!!!!

29 comments:

  1. I don't think I could stick with something that was taking me so long to read! Still, at least you enjoyed it in the end!

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    1. Yep, I was always enjoying it but still think it could have been a tad shorter.

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  2. Cronin has a lot of good books, but I haven't read this one. It sounds like a fun read.

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    1. I'm not aware of any of his other works besides this series. I'll have to look into them.

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  3. I chuckled the other day when you mentioned the book falling behind the couch! Great review and I'm hoping to start this one in the next couple of weeks.

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  4. I'm glad you ended up enjoying this. I read it back when it first came out and loved it! Back then I also wasn't worried about how many books I was reading in a year or stressing over how long it took me to finish a book😊

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    1. I know. I think that's what my problem was as well.

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  5. There's a lot to like about this book. I never considered putting it down when I was reading it either. But I have to say, I've never wanted to read the sequel. You'll have to let me know if I'm missing out.

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    1. I don't know when I'll pick it up. I'm thinking June or July so I'll keep you posted.

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  6. Like you, I don't mind long books, but long AND dense is an issue. Removing some unnecessary information would lighten the book and make it flow more smoothly. Sorry this one dragged for you!

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. Thanks Lindsi. It definitely contained a lot of information.

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  7. Yay! You made it! LOL. I'm so glad to see you also enjoyed it. I was getting worried.

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    1. Haha - sorry to worry you. I really am glad I finally read it.

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  8. I like long books but I hesitate to start them just because of the time commitment. I am glad to see that you ended up enjoying this one. I have a copy of it on my kindle and an audio copy so I do hope to get to it.

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    1. Hope you get to it soon because I'm curious what you think. I've heard the audio book is 40+ hours - that's longer than a work week. I can't imagine.

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  9. It was a long journey, but I'm glad you finally finished the book and liked it!

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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  10. Oooh, so THIS is what that show is based on! Duh, you'd think with the names it would have clicked for me, but it didn't until now. ... I think I might enjoy the show more. Too big and too dense books *are* intimidating for me, but can't for sure say when I started feeling like that I must admit. Are you watching the show?

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    1. I watched the first 3 episodes. They were really different from the book. I've got them recording now so I can binge the rest when the season is finished.

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  11. I am glad you enjoyed it even if it took forever to read. Maybe one day I will try the audio even if it's like 44hrs...lol.

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    1. You can do it. Actually I think you might be bored. Not a lot of action in the middle 200-300 pages and I know you like action.

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  12. Sounds like a great book. I am trying to stay away from anything to long like the Outlander series. I am on book 6 of the series and just don't feel like I want to commit myself at this time. All of the Outlander series are not quick reads and takes me a very long time to get through them. I would like to try this book sometimes tho.

    Mary

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    1. I thought about trying that series but then I decided to just forgo it.

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  13. I have to be prepared, but I do love to sit down with a BIG book, or a series and read until it's over. I love to get lost in the story, travel with the characters.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. There's lot of characters and lots of traveling in this book for you to do.

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  14. I'm going to start this sometime this year. I am glad I have the audiobooks. Ha! 👍✨

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 📚

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  15. My brother in law let me borrow his copy of this! I need to dive in soon!!

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